Halotel hails JPM’s new tax system

Dar es Salaam. The Electronic Revenue Collection System offers a win-win situation to both the government and to companies alike, a telecommunication expert has said.

The system was launched by President Magufuli last Thursday.

Halotel Tanzania managing director Le Van Dai, said on Wednesday  the system helps companies to operate transparently. The new system – which will be operated by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and the Zanzibar Revenue Board (ZRB) - will automatically be calculating, assessing and collecting the required amounts of revenues.

The collected money will then be sent directly to relevant accounts of TRA and ZRB without human intervention. Halotel is one of the first few companies to have been registered with the system.

“When we got information about how this system works, we were impressed by the fact that it helps companies to be transparent in their dealings and that was why we did not hesitate to go for it,” he said.

“Monitoring the company’s progress on time helps us to take necessary measures on time and, if need be; we will discuss with relevant authorities on how to improve the business climate in our area of expertise.” The two-year-old company has a market share of nine per cent – with 3.5 million subscribers - in a competitive field of seven players, according to figures for the first quarter of the current calendar year for Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority. “The voice subscription market declined slightly and some telecommunication networks lost some customers while Halotel got 73,872 new subscribers…Tanzanians have a lot of trust in our products and services. We promise to continue improving our services and products so that we remain a network of choice,” he said.

The company recently announced plans to invest Sh200 billion in its network expansion to improve internet services and voice quality.